Criticism of iOS 6 Maps has not slowed the “unprecedented” demand for the iPhone 5. Demand for Apple’s latest handset is so huge, in fact, that it is nearly double that for the iPhone 4S, according to AppleInsider.

A poll of 4,270 primarily North American consumers by ChangeWave tells the story. It found that 31 percent of respondents were either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase the iPhone 5. Last year, a similar survey showed that 21.5 percent of respondents were interested in buying the fifth generation tablet. To date, the iPhone 4S is the best selling iPhone in history.

According to Dr. Paul Carton, ChangeWave’s vice president of research:

Despite the media attention surrounding both the Apple Maps issue and the Apple Lightning port issue, neither has had an impact on the massive numbers of buyers queuing up to buy the iPhone 5. Rather, the survey results show both issues hardly rank as bumps in the road.

Introduced on Sept. 21, the iPhone 5 is the first to not include Google Maps as its Maps backbone. The sixth generation handset is also the first to include a smaller connector, Lightning. Previous iOS devices included a 30-pin connector. Because of this, customers must purchase adapters in order to use the iPhone 5 with legacy accessories such as car chargers and speaker systems.

The survey showed that just 6 percent considered the Lightning port a “very big problem,” while 31 percent said they felt it was “somewhat of a problem.”

ChangeWave survey

To date, Apple has only announced that they sold 5 million iPhone 5 units during the first three days of availability. Since then, we’ve heard that supply shortages could affect short-term sales numbers heading into the holiday season.

This is the second survey that showed iPhone 5 demand is just fine despite lingering iOS 6 Maps concerns. A survey by Mike Blumenthal showed that 50.7 percent of respondents didn’t see Maps as that significant of an issue.